By Nasiru Abduljalal Ahmed
According to the famous management consultant, Mr. Peter Drucker, “effective leadership is not about speeches or being liked. Leadership is defined by results, and not by attributes.” Since he was elected National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, former Bauchi State Governor, has demonstrated amazing leadership finesse, which wowed even his critics. From day one, he seems focused on a specific goal: rebuilding the PDP, restoring unity, cohesion, harmony and team spirit among the party’s members.
He inherited a party almost overwhelmed by internal crisis. In fact, at the point he took over, PDP enemies were celebrating openly that the end of the ruling party had come. The party opponents were so happy and concluded that the internal crisis was beyond redemption. As far as opposition APC members were concerned, the internal crisis of the PDP sounded its death knell. Indeed, things were incredibly tough.
Therefore, when he took over leadership of PDP, AdamuMu’azu had no doubts in his mind that the challenges would be easy. As a former governor and a longstanding party man, Mu’azu is no stranger to leadership challenges. In fact, when he was nominated for the position, the appointment was greeted with unanimous endorsement. The fact that Mu’azu was invited to come and take over the affairs of the PDP at a critical moment is itself a sign of recognition of his leadership qualities.
As brilliantly argued by Peter Drucker, “leadership is not about making speeches” or courting popularity. Leadership, he said, is “defined by results, not attributes.” Indeed, since he was elected as the PDP National Chairman, Mu’azu has focused his energies on achieving results or actualizing his mission- the task of rebuilding the PDP, which was tearing apart because of serious internal crisis. The crisis was so bad that some party members, including some governors, defected from the party to APC.
Clearly, Mu’azu himself would not have under-estimated the magnitude of this internal crisis. When he came in, he drew up a road map to reconciliation and rebuilding the party. As a major first step, he halted further defections from the party and consolidated its structures at all levels. To succeed, a leader needs the goodwill and support of fellow party leaders. No doubt, Mu’azu enjoys enormous support from fellow party members in this task. He is working silently to rebuild the party, and he seems more concerned about achieving results than courting publicity. Unity is the key to any strategy to rebuild a party.
Armed with leadership experience and political skills, AdamuMu’azu is truly determined to move PDP in a new direction of being the party with the broadest national appeal. Opposition politicians that once predicted the ultimate implosion of the PDP are themselves surprised at the effective manner Mu’azu is holding the party together.
The outcome of the governorship election in Ekiti State should open the eyes of those who have written the PDP obituary before it even dies according to their expectations or wishes. Do you need to be a political scientist to recognize the significance of the PDP electoral victory in Ekiti State? I am really impressed at the leadership of Mu’azu.
He is a team player who carries everybody along. No party can rebuild itself when crisis persists unabated. And to his credit, Mu’azu is providing the necessary leadership and competence to take the ruling party to greater heights.
Governors are key stakeholders in any political party, and dealing with them harmoniously is one of the toughest challenges a party chairman must deal with. Contrary to the expectations of political opponents, the PDP leadership under Mu’azu has no difficulty working harmoniously with the governors. Former governor Adamu Mu’azu is also a good listener, a quality which has made it easier for him to lead smoothly.
Since he took over the management of the PDP, Adamu Mu’azu left nobody in doubt that he was determined to restore the glory of the strongest national party. No other political party can claim to have the national spread of the PDP. By going into merger to compete with PDP in 2015, the opposition parties had indirectly admitted that none of them had the national spread individually to produce a president for the country.
Opposition parties are regional parties with localized political influence. If the former opposition parties such as ACN, CPC and ANNP had national appeal or spread, why did they need a merger to compete with the PDP in 2015? They have acknowledged they are not national parties. I commend Adamu Mu’azu for rebuilding the PDP and sending a strong message to those who assumed that the PDP is dead.
Ahmed wrote from No. 63 AdetokunboAdemola Crescent, Wuse 2, Abuja. Email: [email protected]
